I have brushed nickel hardware but went with a chrome faucet. One of the reasons was price, I really like the Grohe Bridgeford pull down, but the stainless version was out of reach financially. After looking around for a while, I decided I like the chrome better anyways, it's like a bright jewel at my sink. I had decided that if I was going to go with my back up choice, Delta Victorian pulldown, I was going to get it in chrome anyways, even though the SS was more affordable. It just came down to personal preference.

Definitely get what you like. I also think it depends on the faucet style as to whether it reads modern or not. My mother-in-law and I both ended up with the Kohler Vinatta faucet and had nearly the same granite...long story on how that transpired. Anyway, I got my Vinatta before I knew she was considering the same faucet and chose stainless. It looked anything but modern because the style of the faucet was very traditional. And Kohler's stainless is very warm. Plus, we had an undermount sink. It looked great. She chose chrome. It looked very stark with the sink in comparison. I always thought hers looked more modern than mine because the finish was colder and shinier looking. I think it's extremely important to see the manufacturer's stainless before deciding. They're all a bit different in tone. For this build, I'd originally chosen chrome for our faucet (even though our sink is cast iron). But once I figured out that my other finishes for cabinet hardware and lighting were warm in tone (polished nickel and bronze), I changed my faucet choice to Moen's stainless since its warm in tone and would blend with the other warm metal tones in the kitchen. I think the blue undertones of the chrome would have looked strange. But had my other choices have been chrome and bronze, I would have gone with chrome. That was a lot of info but I hope it gives you some food for thought.

I have a chrome faucet, stainless appliances and antique brass lighting and hardware. Chrome is classic. You Gel Gloss to maintain the chrome. It is available at HD. Wipe it on with a rag, leaving residue. Let it dry and then wipe it off with a clean rag, sort of buffing it. It will stain spotless for weeks. It is safe if it gets on marble or granite as well, so no worries.

To me, chrome has a bluish tint to it, and so I avoid it. It would be glaringly obvious to me that the faucet and sink do not match, but I was a professional designer (now retired), and we had extremely picky clients. I would rather see a contrasting color, such as black or gold, but that would depend on what other hardware you have. Right now I have a black faucet in my kitchen in Cathedral (with a black sink), but I am replacing that with a white sink and optic steel faucet. The new air gap will also be optic steel. If you have a lot of color in your kitchen (i.e., not white), then the difference between the sink and faucet will be less obvious, as the chrome will reflect the colors around it. If you have dark countertops, I would not worry about it.